President Donald Trump rejected Democratic criticism of the Iran war on Thursday, saying he believes Americans appreciate his administration’s efforts to prevent the Islamic regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“I think the public sees what we’re doing, because Iran can never have a nuclear weapon — very simple,” Trump said in a radio interview with Michael Cohen on Thursday. “I think the public sees it, and I think they appreciate it and they respect it.”
Recommended Stories
With affordability being the buzzword of the 2026 midterm elections, Democrats have used the high energy price stemming from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as an attack line on the campaign trail against Republicans and the Trump administration agenda. A mid-August Reuters-Ipsos poll showed a decline in the president’s approval rating, pinning it on voters’ fears of a prolonged war with Iran.
As the president defends the war in Iran, Republicans running for election this fall have largely avoided the topic, given recent polling on the war, as they preach their policies on affordability. While Republicans have largely avoided the Iran war and the related topic of energy affordability, they have touted their tax relief efforts through the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The Reuters poll had pinned Trump’s approval rating at 33%, marking a 31-percentage-point difference between his approval and disapproval ratings. Another mid-August YouGov/Economist poll also had the president’s approval rating at 33%.
But Trump rejected these low polling numbers in his Thursday evening interview with Cohen, his former lawyer, saying that he is doing well in “the real polls.”
“I think that we’re doing really well in the polls, the real polls,” Trump said. “If I were running today, I think I’d win by 25 points. I think we’d win by a lot.”
Trump called the current polling on his approval rating “crooked” and emphasized that there are “a lot of people that see how good things are.” He doubled down on the war with Iran and how important the conflict has been to preventing a nuclear Iran, despite negative press coverage of the war.
“With Iran, they will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “We’re controlling, essentially controlling, and soon controlling the straits. We’re doing very well with Iran. The press doesn’t like to say that, although a lot of the press does say it.”
“The navy’s gone, the air force is gone, the leadership is gone,” Trump continued. “Part of the problem is so many of the leaders are gone. It’s not easy to make a deal — nobody knows who’s leading.”
FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX PREVIEW: WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU’RE ATTENDING THE FASTEST WEEKEND IN DC
Trump’s appearance on Cohen’s 77 WABC radio show comes as the latest point in their storied history. Cohen, formerly Trump’s personal lawyer and close ally during his first presidential term, ultimately went toe-to-toe with the president as the two turned on each other once Cohen became the target of a federal investigation.
Cohen ultimately served three years in prison on charges of tax evasion, making false statements, and campaign finance violations. The remainder of the Thursday evening interview and the much-anticipated reunion between the two will be aired in full on Sunday.
